Flipkart gets funds

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

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Mumbai, May 26: Just three days after closing the biggest acquisition in the Indian e-commerce space, Flipkart today said it has raised $210 million in a fresh round of funding, bringing private equity firm DST Global on board as an investor.

Technology-focused DST Global, founded by Russian Internet tycoon Yuri Milner and best known for its $200 million investment in Facebook, will lead this round of funding besides existing investors such as Tiger Global, Naspers and Iconiq Capital.

“DST is known for its investment in technology-focused firms and they have a great set of companies they have invested in. This round of funding is more for the association than just raising funds,” Flipkart co-founder and CEO Sachin Bansal told reporters.

On how Flipkart will use the funds, Bansal said the company was looking at strengthening its technology and acquiring firms across areas such as e-commerce, technology and supply chain.

“We have the cash on books. We will look to strengthen our (tech) platform. We could look at e-commerce, tech firms and supply chain companies. Other adjacent areas such as payment can also be tapped,” he said, adding that Flipkart could also look at acquiring startups.

The latest round of funding reflects the growing interest and confidence shown by leading investment firms in India’s e-tailing space at a time when many of the firms are on an expansion mode.

For Flipkart, it comes after raising $360 million (Rs 2,114.1 crore) from private equity firms last year in one of the largest funding deals then. Of this, nearly $200 million came from its existing investors.